Please help support this site

Hotels, B&B's and Caravan and Camping Sites

Atlantic Hotel - 4 star service and opulence in an astounding Cornish cliff top location. Surrounded by sea, sunsets, surfing and breathtaking coastal walks, this is a perfect choice for your luxury Cornish break.

Headland Hotel - A luxury hotel perched on its own wave-lashed promontory overlooking Fistral beach in Newquay, where you can watch the wild winter storms and enjoy the breathtaking location all year.

Perran Springs Holiday Park - Our aim is to make your caravan or camping holiday both enjoyable and memorable. Our holiday park is set within twenty-one acres in a tranquil, sheltered countryside valley. Families and couples only.

Stay in Cornwall - Stay In Cornwall is a great resource for people visiting Newquay and the whole of Cornwall, featuring a wide selection of hotels, self-catering cottages, holiday parks, B&Bs, and visitor guides.

Earthquake Facts and Statistics

Plate Tectonics

Plate Tectonics Map by USGS

There are six major plates, named for the continents embedded within them, such as the North American, African, and Antarctic plates
and dozens of smaller, or minor, plates. The plates make up Earth's outer shell, called the lithosphere. Churning currents in the molten
rocks below propel them along like a jumble of conveyor belts. The movement of the plates creates three types of tectonic boundaries:
convergent, where plates move into one another; divergent, where plates move apart; and transform, where plates move sideways in
relation to each other.

Convergent BoundariesWhere plates serving landmasses collide, the crust crumples and buckles into mountain ranges.
India and Asia crashed about 55 million years ago, slowly giving rise to the Himalaya

Divergent BoundariesIn the oceans, magma from deep in the Earth's mantle rises toward the surface and pushes apart two or more plates. Mountains and volcanoes rise along the seamOn land, giant troughs such as the Great Rift Valley in Africa form where plates are tugged apart.

Transform BoundariesThe San Andreas Fault in California is an example of a transform boundary, where two plates grind past each
other along what are called strike-slip faults

Are Earthquakes Really on the Increase?
According to long-term records (since about 1900), we can expect about 17 major earthquakes (7.0 - 7.9) and one great earthquake (8.0 or above) in any given year.

Check out the list of magnitude 8 and greater earthquakes since 1900, Here

March 2011, Japan's coastline may have shifted by as much as 4m (13ft) to the east following the 8.9 Magnitude earthquake on friday 11th, according to experts
also the quake probably shifted Earth on its axis by about 6.5 inches (16.5cm) and caused the planet to rotate somewhat faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 millionths of a second.

Earthquake Statistics

Number of Earthquakes Worldwide for 2000 - 2011
Located by the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center

Last updated 15th March 2011

Magnitude

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

8.0 to 9.9

1

1

0

1

2

1

2

4

0

1

1

1

7.0 to 7.9

14

15

13

14

14

10

9

14

12

16

21

11

6.0 to 6.9

146

121

127

140

141

140

142

178

168

144

151

128

Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes

Magnitude

Average Annually

8 and higher

1 ¹

7 - 7.9

15 ¹

6 - 6.9

134 ²

5 - 5.9

1319 ²

4 - 4.9

13,000 (estimated)

3 - 3.9

130,000 (estimated)

2 - 2.9

1,300,000 (estimated)

¹ Based on observations since 1900.
² Based on observations since 1990.

IMPORTANTNever base important decisions or events on data from this private weather station, which
is offered as a general guide to local conditions only and should not be relied upon in lieu
of officially disseminated weather information for the safety and/or protection of person or property.

All Data collected by newquayweather station is copyright of newquayweather.com